


Portal hop

by Lizberry333



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Captain Swan is barely even there, Gold Ships It, I Will Go Down With This Ship, Multi, Swan Queen is though, This is probably gonna be bad, and the rest of the gang - Freeform, but give it a chance - Freeform, this might sound stupid but try to bear with me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-17
Updated: 2018-09-28
Packaged: 2019-05-24 16:26:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,805
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14958069
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lizberry333/pseuds/Lizberry333
Summary: She didn’t know where she was going, all she knew was it was away. For now, the best she could do was her house, and it was in her room she stayed locked in for the next two days, only leaving for food and every time she did, she tried desperately to not run into to anyone she knew personally. She just couldn’t bear to see Emma, Hook, The Charming’s or especially Robin, it would all just be too much to see any one of them. And Henry! Oh, Henry. If Henry saw her like this she may implode.By the third day, she couldn’t take anymore, she needed a way out, an escape, and, luckily, she knew just the place to go.(Regina POV and different timelines and portals and cool stuff like that)





	1. in which Regina is desperate

**Author's Note:**

> If you want to know more about the universe this is set in, read 'It Was Always You' by trixwitch ( https://archiveofourown.org/works/13759626/chapters/31622160 ) even if you don't wanna read my fic. If you like Swan Queen, you'll like that it, trust me. (seriously for most of this to make sense, I would advise reading their fic)

Regina stared in disbelief. That was all she could do.

After a few more seconds of staring, Regina got some sort of a hold of herself and turned her eyes to Emma, still filled with disbelief.

“You,” She said with almost a whisper “You did this.” There were tears welling up in her eyes now as she tried to swallow the lump in her throat.

Emma was taken aback. She had expected screaming and crying and fighting when she realized what she had done but raw pain, she was not prepared for. “I just wanted to save her life.” She said, defending herself. Now the anger had settled in Regina’s eyes but the pain was still behind them.

“You’re just like your mother,” she shook her head lightly, never breaking eye-contact, “Never thinking of the consequences.”

“I didn’t know-”

“Yeah, of course you didn’t,” The bite was back in her voice when she’d shot back immediately. “Well, you better hope to hell you didn’t bring anything else back.” She added. Emma was now looking at her calmly (somehow) as if she was memorizing every part of her face, knowing she would storm off soon and may not be seen for a while.

And, with that, Regina turned on her heel and left the diner.

Emma exchanged a look with Hook, who sighed and gave her a shrug. They knew there was nothing they could do now and they'd have to let her cool down in her own time.

She didn’t know where she was going, all she knew was it was away. For now, the best she could do was her house, and it was in her room she stayed locked in for the next two days, only leaving for food and every time she did, she tried desperately to not run into to anyone she knew personally. She just couldn’t bear to see Emma, Hook, The Charming’s or especially Robin, it would all just be too much to see any one of them. And Henry! Oh, Henry. If Henry saw her like this she may implode.

By the third day, she couldn’t take anymore, she needed a way out, an escape, and, luckily, she knew just the place to go.

As she was pacing across the room, she caught a glance at herself: her hair was sticking up; her clothes were dirty and dusty and her make-up was all smudged. No matter how depressed and broken she felt, she refused to see Gold like this. She quickly changed into some fresh clothes, re-did her make-up and brushed her hair down as best she could. Once she was done, she took another look at herself. Yes. Now she looked presentable.

She closed her eyes, concentrated, and let the thick, purple smoke consume her.

 

________________________________________________

 

 

As soon as the smoke started to clear, Regina stepped through it and placed her hands on the glass counter.

“Nice to see you, your majesty,” said Gold in his usual sarcastic tone, ”tell me, to what do I owe the pleasure.”

“I need a way out, a way to finally be freely with Robin.” Regina replied, always so straight to the point.

“Ah, well, I’ll see what I have.” He said, disappearing into the back of the shop.

He returned not a minute later and produced a small, golden disc with what looked like green stained glass in the middle.

“Now, this,” he said, holding up the small trinket, “can take you to a place where you’re with your true love without any complications.”

“So, it’s like a portal to another world?”

“Close. It’s a portal to another timeline, one that is exactly like ours except, you are with your true love without any complications, so there will be another you.” He seemed to be repeating himself and really pushing that point but, Regina took no notice. She didn’t have time to worry about things like that, she was an emotional mess!

“How do I use it?” She asked after a few seconds of staring at the portal in Gold’s hands.

“Simple, you hold it like this,” He demonstrated by holding the disc between his forefingers and thumbs, “then you think ‘ _open_ ’. Let it fill you and, if you’re doing right, the glass in the middle should start to glow and then you drop it on the floor and it will open up the portal.”

Regina nodded thoughtfully and the paused when Gold held the small disc out to her. “Don’t you want something for it?” She asked, confusion evident on her face.

“Let’s just say, I’m invested in your future.” Still apprehensive, Regina cautiously reached across the counter and accepted the disc from Gold. _Where had she heard him say that before?_ Whatever, it didn’t matter right now. All that mattered to her was getting to be with Robin again without the pang of guilt that struck her every time she thought about him.

Just as she was about to try opening the portal, she remembered something and her eyes flew open.

“Wait, how will I get back?” She said, half frantic, half curious. It was an interesting mix.

“Just use the portal again and it’ll open up right here, a few seconds after you left.” He explained calmly but still with a bit of annoyance in his voice and gritting his teeth, the way he explained most things.

And with that, everything accounted for, Regina held out the disc, just as Rumple had shown, closed her eyes and concentrated on the word ‘open’. She allowed the word to fill her up until there was no space for anything else. The only things she didn’t open were her hands, her eyes and that little part at the back of her mind, that everyone has, that you never open.

Once she was sure that the portal would be ready, she opened her eyes and looked down at the disc, which was now glowing, just as Gold said it would.

She glanced over at Rumple and did a double take. Was he _smiling_? No, he was trying to hide a smirk and evidently failing. Once again, she pushed that thought to the back of her mind and put her concentration back on the portal.

Carefully, she dropped the small, golden disc onto the floor and it suddenly grew in size, big enough to easily fit three people in it, the glowing, green glass brighter than before.

She glanced over at Gold again to see that he now had his smirk under control and nodded at Regina. Gracefully, she hovered her foot above the portal and allowed herself to drop through.


	2. In which it's a bit too close for comfort

It was a bit disconcerting to fall through the floor onto another floor, wait no, not another floor, this was outside, on the ROAD! Her instincts kicked in as she spotted a car heading towards her and she darted across the street to the pavement (sorry, I’m too British to use ‘sidewalk’) just in time.

She was now breathing heavily to try to catch her breath and calm her self down. This town might be more stressful than she remembered. Once her breathing had returned to normal, she started to look around at her surroundings and saw a few familiar faces but she didn’t wave. There was only one thing on her mind - _Robin_. Where could she finally see Robin again?

The first place she decided to look was her house and she took off in a power walk (yes, she could’ve easily used magic but she was an emotional mess and not thinking straight) towards her house.

Usually, when she walked, she would let her mind wander and think about things like where she was going; what she had done that day; what was on her to do list and; how to defeat this week’s new villain and was generally on auto-pilot, but not this time. This time she only thought about the way home and how to get there quickest.

She also had a look of determination that made people she was walking past follow her with their eyes, but it wasn’t angry, it was more like she was almost late for a meeting and the only way to get there on time was to speed walk all the way there. Safe to say that no one got in her way.

Finally, she reached her house and she had to remember to physically stop herself from bursting right in. She took a few deep breaths to calm herself down and prepare herself for what she was about to do. Once she was ready, she opened the door, then closed it softly behind her and held her breath. A few seconds later, she heard the light thuds of someone coming down the stairs and a smile burst forward from her but, once they turned the corner, her smile dropped into a face of confusion. It was ... _Emma_? What was _she_ doing here?

“You’re home early.” said Emma, walking towards her but, to Regina’s surprise, Emma didn’t stop at a safe, comfortable distance, she just kept walking towards her until her lips were pressed gently against Regina’s.

Even though the kiss was only a couple seconds long, it was enough to make Regina freeze up until her brain was going to be able to process what just happened (for reference, Regina’s brain was basically like (volume warning) <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1D4nIU8xfM> and <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5HQw2IRZUM> )

Emma had clearly noticed this but tried to laugh it off. “Regina? Are you ok?”When Regina didn’t reply, Emma started to look truly confused and concerned which only confused Regina more. Eventually, she managed,

“You... we... wha...” she stammered, making slow hand gestures between the two and still blinking back the confusion.

“Okay, something’s up here.” Emma declared and reached out to Regina to hold her hand for support and placed her other hand on Regina’s back to steady her. Regina would have objected but she was already an emotional mess before and this had really just tipped her over the edge. She was completely helpless. Emma then walked her to one of the sofas and lay her down on it.

“Are you ok? Do I need to call for help?” Emma stared expectantly at Regina’s motionless body and, after a long pause where neither of them moved, Emma whisper-shouted, “I’m gonna go call for help.” And she stood up to go into the hallway.

**(Emma’s point of view for a bit)**

The best Emma could think of was her mother, who picked up almost immediately,

“Hi, mom.” Emma sounded a bit panicked and in a rush, which her mother caught onto immediately.

“Hi, Emma. Is everything alright?” _No, mom, everything is not alright; my girlfriend is acting like we’ve never met... Or she’s seen a ghost. WAIT, what if she had seen a ghost._ Ok, no. Emma had to remove herself from this stupid spiral and answer Snow, who was patiently awaiting a response.

“Not really, Regina’s acting really weird.” Snow paused to murmur something to someone she was with and Emma strained to hear her, but couldn’t quite make it out.

“What do you mean by weird?” Snow said skeptically

“Well, she looked confused when she saw me and she froze when I kissed her like we’d never done that before.” Emma responded. More hissed murmurs. And then, finally

“Where is she now?” Emma stuck her head through the doorframe and looked at Regina, who apart from her body’s slow rise and fall of her breathing, was still lying motionless.

“She’s lying down on the couch.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes!” Emma was getting impatient. More murmurs.

“Emma,” Snow said calmly though strained as if she was holding something back. She took a deep breath “ _I’m_ with Regina.” Emma was frozen (for reference see the links for when Regina froze up), her heart thundering in her chest. Her breathing was hitched and Snow must have heard because she prompted her with a concerned, “Emma?”

Emma forced herself to reply but it was in a voice that was too high for her to be calm. “I think you two should come over here.”

“We’ll be there as soon as we can.” Snow hung up.

Emma didn’t know what to do with herself and found herself walking back into the room where Regina was lying and seated herself opposite her. They both sat in the uncomfortable silence and tension for a few minutes until Regina finally spoke.

“What did you mean by ‘like we’d never done that before’?” This made Emma snap back to reality (oh, there goes gravity) and look into Regina’s eyes which were filled with pure curiosity and interest, which made Emma just want to go over to her and - no, that wasn’t _her_ Regina.

“When did I say that?”

“When you were on the phone.”

“Oh, you heard that.” Emma said quietly. Regina dropped her eyes apologetically then looked back into Emma’s, which hit her like a wave. Emma had to use almost all of her strength to restrain herself. As Emma opened her mouth to answer Regina, a question occurred to her. “Wait, who _are_ you? ‘Cause you’re clearly not Regina.”

“Well, I _am_ Regina _,_ but not the one you know,” Emma cocked her head to one side, drawing her eyebrows together in confusion. Regina elaborated. “I’m from a different timeline.”

Emma thought for a few seconds, processing the new information. Finally, she asked a question. “How did you get-“

But she was interrupted by the sound of the door banging open and two people charging in. Snow and Regina both crashed into the room making Regina sit up.

“Wow,” Regina said flatly when she saw Regina sitting across from her girlfriend. “I have to admit, that’s pretty good.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was gonna make this chapter longer but I felt that this was a good cliffhanger for now


	3. In which it starts to make sense (but only a bit)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To try to avoid confusion, if two of the same character are in the same scene (e.g the Reginas) the one from the timeline in the first chapter will have '(1)' after their name and the one from the timeline in the second chapter will have '(2)' after their name (e.g Regina(2) took Emma's hand)
> 
> I hope this will make the story easier to read and understand
> 
> also, I'm sorry that this chapter took 2 weeks to come out. I was gonna try to make it longer to make up for it but then you guys would have just been waiting longer and it's better to have something than nothing.

Emma drew her eyebrows together and looked at her girlfriend, studying her, and then said, “What do you mean ‘pretty good’?”

Regina(2) stopped looking at Regina(1) on the sofa and turned her gaze to her girlfriend. “I’m just saying, it’s pretty accurate. Whoever they are, they’re good at magic.”

“Well, they _are_ good at magic because they _are_ Regina.”

“But _I’m_ Regina.”

“Yes but, she’s you from a different timeline.” Emma explained, calmly.

“But how can we be sure? Can we really just take her word for it?” Snow chimed in.

“Yeah that’s a good point, how _can_ we trust her?”

“Ahem!” Regina(1) said from her seat on the sofa, “Why don’t _I_ just tell you?”

The room was silent for a few moments as they all realized that that was a pretty good idea and not one of them had thought of it. After a few moments of feeling annoyed with themselves, they turned their eyes to Regina(1) expectantly. She carefully thought of what she could use to prove herself and the rest of the gang could practically see the cogs turning in her head. She then dove her hand into her pocket and retrieved the small golden disc.

“ _This_ is how I got here,” she held the disc up for them to see. “I got it from Gold so, if Gold has the exact same one and will confirm I didn’t get mine from _that_ him, you’ll know I’m telling the truth.”

They all exchanged looks until Emma finally said, “I guess it’s worth a shot.”

Everyone nodded in agreement then turned their eyes to Regina(2) this time. Regina(2) looked around at all of them then scoffed.

“What, I have to poof you _all_ there?” There was a moment of silence where everyone continued to look at Regina(2) expectantly and she stared back stubbornly until Regina(1) spoke up.

“Ugh, fine! I’ll take Mary Margaret, you take Emma.”

Emma grinned at Regina(2) smugly but she just rolled her eyes, took her hand and enclosed them in smoke. Regina(1) pushed herself up off the couch and walked over to Snow.

She looked focused, possibly trying to stare Regina down. She looked as if she had something to say, a whole speech maybe, but she kept her mouth shut. Regina decided she should probably get this over with ASAP, took hold of Snow’s hand and surrounded them in smoke.

 

__________________________________________________

 

They arrived just in time to hear Gold say,

“Well, if it isn’t Storybrooke’s newest power couple,” he said, barely lifting his head from a little figurine he was studying. “Tell me, to what do I owe the pleasure?”

Regina(1) did a double take at that. “Power _couple_?” Well, that would explain the kiss.

Gold started to turn around. “Yes, of course, power couple...” he trailed off when he caught sight of Regina(1), raising his eyebrows in surprise. “And I see you brought a spare.” All four of them rolled their eyes at that (both Regina’s the most, of course). Emma stepped forward confidently.

“That’s what we’ve come to talk to you about.” She nodded to Regina(1) for her to continue.

“Yes, I’m from another timeline and the Rumple from my timeline gave me this,” she produced the small disc which immediately seemed to intrigue Rumple. “And we were hoping you could show us the one you have and confirm that I didn’t get this one from you.”

Gold gave Regina a knowing look but still obliged, disappearing behind the back of the shop. This left the four of them in complete silence, aside from the slight noise of them all shuffling uncomfortably. Eventually, Gold returned with the disc and held it up to Regina(1)’s. He carefully placed his little finger on her’s and his thumb on his and gently probed it with magic. They reacted exactly the same, so alike it felt almost impossible. They were definitely the same disc. Gold lifted his hand, stepped back and gently nodded.

“They are in fact, the same.” Regina(1) felt a smug smile take over her face, but privately, on the inside, she breathed a sigh of relief. She quickly looked around the room to see Snow’s expression. It was so much softer and more welcoming than before, really quite gentle, and the same for Emma and Regina(2)’s

Emma quickly turned to face Rumple, who was back studying his little figurine like nothing ever happened, and said, “Thanks Gold.”

“No problem.” It was very clear that he was barely paying any attention to them by the fact that he didn’t even look up when he said this.

Taking the hint, the four of them filed out of the shop.

 

__________________________________

 

Regina(1), Emma and Regina(2) sat facing each other on the sofas (Emma and Regina(2) sat together and Regina(1) on the one opposite them). Snow had left the group on _‘important town business’_ , leaving the two to solve the mystery of Regina(1).

The two had a million questions whizzing through their heads but, Emma decided to settle on a simple statement.

“Okay,” she started, breaking the silence and snapping the two Regina’s back to reality (oh, there goes gravity and yes I’m using that again, you’re welcome.) “We need to work out what the differences in our timelines are. Perhaps then it’ll break some of the ice.” Her voice went up so much on the last part that it sounded more like a question but, Regina(2) seemed to accept it and turned to question Regina(1).

“Yeah, let’s start with any clues you might have to the differences.” Regina(1) thought for a moment, of course, there was the obvious difference that was sitting in front of her but, there had to be something. Suddenly, it dawned on her.

“Gold did say that _this_ timeline was exactly like mine but I’m ‘ _with my true love without any complications_ ’” This made Emma and Regina(2) blush profusely and look intensely at the floor, sneaking small glances at each other (THESE TWO ARE TOO CUTE AND I HAVE TOO MUCH CONTROL OVER HOW CUTE THEY ARE). _This_ made Regina(1) raise one eyebrow and roll her eyes at them while smirking the whole time (yeah, Regina(1) ships it too).

Eventually, the three of them got a hold of themselves and Regina(1) continued.

“The thing is, _I_ thought he was talking about Robin but, clearly, that was not the case.”

“Oh, that explains how you reacted when I kissed you.” Emma added and Regina(2)’s head snapped up to look at her girlfriend.

“You kissed her?” She demanded

“Though it was you.” She said rather quickly (yes, like Snow did to Charming in the underworld). “Anyway,” Emma said, determined to get the conversation back on track. “ _This_ Regina,” she said, placing her hand on top of her girlfriend’s and trying to laugh off the awkward situation, “also thought that Robin was her true love for a while until we fell through the time portal together.”

 _And there it is._ thought Regina(1) nodding her head and smiling. This left evident confusion on Emma and Regina(2)’s face and, once Regina(1) saw, she quickly explained herself.

“In my timeline, Emma and Hook fell into the time portal and brought back Marian, Robin’s wife, who he’d assumed was dead, and that _kind of_ made our relationship a bit awkward.” Emma and Regina(2) were also now nodding their heads, as they pieced together the story. Everything was finally starting to make sense now.


	4. In which there is focus

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 4: Now with extra fluff!

The three spent the rest of the day getting their stories straight and eventually pinpointed the first difference in their timelines as who Emma dated in New York. It was incredible how that one difference sprouted the separation in their timelines. Eventually, it was time for them all to get some sleep.

That night, Regina(1) lay awake in the guest room. She felt uneasy, a guest in her own home, tossing and turning but, no position she tried was comfortable.

Seeing as she couldn’t get any sleep, she decided to let her mind wander but, no matter how hard she tried to direct herself, her mind kept slipping back to the kiss. It was starting to drive her mad, but she just couldn’t stop thinking about how Emma and Regina(2) looked at each other with such… love. Maybe they really were each other’s true love just as Gold said.

 ** _GOLD!_** HE KNEW ALL ALONG! Now that little smirk on his face before she went through the portal finally made sense. That sneaky, little imp! Although, she still couldn’t help but smile up at the ceiling. Slowly, she closed her eyes, trying to get some rest.

 

___________________________________

 

**(Regina(2)’s point of view, in the bedroom)**

 

Regina and Emma were getting ready for bed and Regina stood in front of the mirror, taking out her earrings when she heard Emma jump onto the bed and smiled. She was always _so_ full of energy. That is until her head hits the pillow, then she’s out like a light. And, sure enough, when Regina turned around to climb into bed, Emma was fast asleep. Regina smiled again and slipped in soundlessly. She then pressed her smile to Emma’s forehead and when she pulled back, Emma had a big smile on her face too. She had clearly only pretended to be asleep but Regina didn’t mind and pressed their two’s smiles together before settling down and letting her heavy eyelids flutter down.

 

___________________________________

The trio spent the next few days talking, hanging out and learning about the differences between their timelines, like how Emma(2) never kissed Hook in Neverland (Regina(1) had only found out that this happened in her own timeline because Hook had bragged to her about it, which had really annoyed her, though she couldn’t quite put her finger on why) and how in the Enchanted Forest, during the missing year, Regina(2) and Robin had flirted way more rather than being super prickly and had instead been prickly towards each other when they were cursed and back in Storybrooke.

Regina(1) could have left at any time, just hopped through her portal back to her own timeline and returned to what she knew and to a world that all made sense to her (apart from the whole Marien situation, that was still gonna be a mess), they all knew this but, for whatever reason she decided to stay for a while. Even Regina(1) didn’t quite know why she stayed and spent many nights trying to figure it out but, to no avail.

One day, they were sat together, in a booth, having lunch at Granny’s when Emma casually said to Regina(1),

“You know, Regina, you’ve come around to see our timeline, wouldn’t it be cool if we could see yours too?” Regina’s eyes glossed over the arm Emma had gently wrapped around Regina(2) quickly before she brought them up to meet Emma’s gaze.

“Yeah, that’d be pretty cool.” Regina(2) agreed, smiling at her girlfriend. The two’s eyes locked as they smiled at each other and then blushed slightly then smiled some more. All this smiling and blushing seemed to go on forever.

“Actually, I think we _can_ do that,” Regina(1) said, snapping the two out of their daze (oh, gravity or whatever), ”We can use the portal Gold gave me, it’s easily big enough and it’ll take us straight there.”

“Great, where is it?” Emma asked.

Regina quickly patted her pockets then sighed in frustration. “Ugh, I left it at home.” ‘ _home_ ’. Surprisingly, neither of them batted an eyelid at this. This timeline really was starting to feel like home, there was something that just felt _right_ about this place but Regina just couldn’t quite tell what it was.

“Don’t worry,” Emma chimed in, “we can just go and get it after lunch.”

They all quickly tried to finish their lunches, Emma scarfing it down like a lion that hadn’t eaten in 2 weeks. They still managed to keep conversation somehow but, Regina(2) seemed quieter than usual and Regina(1) noticed and focused on her face. She recognized it, Regina(2) was in deep concentration. Regina(1) kept looking just a bit harder until… huh. She's planning something. But what?

Both Regina’s were abruptly taken from their concentration when they realized that all three had finished their meals (Emma first, obviously). Keeping their promise, they walked down to the house (they like the scenery and it’s good to take a break from teleporting all the time) and picked up the portal.

“So, like, how does it work?” Emma asked uncertainly

“Well, it… kind of… it just…” Regina(1) stuttered,” I… you know what, it’s probably easier to just show you.” And she demonstrated, holding the disk just like Gold had shown her and allowing the word ‘open’ to flood and flow throughout her body and mind, drowning out everything else, until she finally opened her eyes to see the middle glowing familiarly (Is that even a real word?) and gently dropped it onto the floor. As soon as it touched the floor, it grew much bigger, just like last time, and Regina looked over at the other two at her side to see Emma with her eyes filled with immense curiosity and wonder and Regina(2) looking mildly impressed. _Typical_ she thought, smirking at her.

“So, we just jump in?” Regina(2) asked. She had a look in her eye that Regina(1) just couldn’t quite explain. It was almost devious or victorious or maybe focused?

“Yeah, pretty much.”

“I guess we should count down or something,” said Emma, looking a little bit too excited. “3…2…1!”

They all jumped in at the same time, ready to venture to the first timeline.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this chapter took forever to come out I just kind of hit a wall but I worked around it. The next chapter will most likely be the last and hopefully a bit longer than usual but no promises. ¯\\_( ツ )_/¯
> 
> Tell me your thoughts on this one in the comments :)


	5. In which there's a Panic! at the disco (I couldn't help myself)

Regina(1) landed gracefully on the floor of Gold’s shop, remembering how the portal worked while Emma and Regina(2) landed with quite a clumsy thud. Gold looked up slightly, devoting a small part of his attention to the noise. He looked up a bit more when he saw that Regina had brought someone with her. He then looked up completely when he saw _who_ she had brought with her.

“Well, Regina welcome back and welcome to your… friends.” He looked at them for a few seconds longer, connecting the dots in his head. He then slowly returned his attention back to what he was doing.

“Yup, same old Gold.” Emma remarked.

The trio decided to venture outside to look around the town to see if they could spot any differences but, after a while of walking around, Regina(2) stepped ahead of the two and turned to face them. “Emma,” she said, turning to her girlfriend, “I’m sorry about this but, I don’t know, consider it payback? Regina,” she shifted her gaze to her, “you’ll thank me later.” She enveloped herself in a cloud of purple smoke and, when it cleared, she was gone.

Emma and Regina looked frantically at each other.

“What was that?”

“Where did she go?”

“Why’d she leave?”

“What’s she gonna do?”

“Why didn’t she tell us?”

“What did she mean?”

“What’s she gonna do?”

“I already said that one,” said Emma, panicking more and more by the second.

“Okay,” Regina said, taking Emma’s hands in her own. “We need to breathe.” Emma nodded but didn’t make an attempt to calm herself. “Deep breaths.” Regina demonstrated and Emma copied her until they were both calm enough to think straight.

“Ugh! I _knew_ she was up to something!” Regina blurted out

“What’s that, Redgy?” Ugh, why did she still insist on calling her that? (A while ago, when the three were still getting acquainted, Emma kept getting frustrated with their names being the same and came up with the idea of giving them both different nicknames, she gave her girlfriend ‘Gina’ so Regina(1) got stuck with ‘ _Redgy_ ’)

“Nothing, it doesn’t matter anymore.”

“Okay.” She said, still sounding suspicious “So, what clues do we have?”

“I guess just what she said to us, that I’ll ‘thank her later’, that she’s sorry and, you should ‘consider it payback’ but, what would she want payback for? Did you do something she didn’t like?”

“I don’t think so- no wait, there was something!” Emma screwed up her eyes and tapped her forehead. “I got it! She didn’t like that I kissed you!”

Memories of their first encounter flooded back and Regina was mildly aware of her reddening cheeks and she looked down at her feet, trying not to smile, but all the colour drained from her face when she realized what this meant and her eyes flew back up to Emma to see that she had reached the same conclusion.

“She wouldn’t.” Regina said eyes wide, shaking her head in disbelief

“She would.” Emma said, wincing

“Let’s go. It might not be too late.” Without thinking, Regina grabbed Emma by the wrist, pulled her close and engulfed them in thick, purple smoke.

 

 

_________________________________

 

 

Regina(1)’s magic must have been slightly off in the panic because, they appeared just outside Emma(1)’s house but, there was no time to waste, so they ran to the nearest window to see if they were too late.

Inside, Regina(2) was talking to Emma(1) and seemed to be asking her questions. Emma(2) also asked a question but, it was much less important

“Is that really what my hair looks like?”

Regina was panicking too much to realize what a stupid question that was and answered it. “No, her’s is straighter than yours.”

“Everything about her is straighter.” Regina must have also been panicking too much to hear what Emma said because she completely missed it, she was too focused on the scene in front of them.

Emma(1)’s face was growing more and more suspicious at whatever Regina(2) was saying in there until, suddenly, Regina(2) lurched forward and kissed her!

Emma(1) grew stiff at the contact and her eyes were as wide as saucepans but, slowly, her eyes started to soften, then close, and, just as she started to return the kiss, Regina pulled back and said something that looked like _‘one moment’_ and glanced at the window that Regina and Emma were standing at. Emma(1) followed her gaze but looked a second too late, still stunned by the kiss, because Emma(2) and Regina(1) had dashed out of view of the window.

“Never mind then.” Emma(2) said, bewildered

Regina(2) started for the door to talk to the two outside but Emma(1) grabbed her arm and spun her around.

“Aren’t we gonna talk about what just happened?!” Emma practically demanded

“Yes, of course,” Regina’s voice came soft and calming, “but you’ll just have to excuse me for one minute.”

“What could possibly be more important than talking about this?!”

“You’d be surprised.” She sighed. This (in addition to the kiss) stunned Emma enough to let Regina walk away. She could definitely wait just one minute.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry that this story is taking actual centuries to come out but, try and stick with me


	6. In which a very large penny drops

Regina(2) returned to the others and tried to look as innocent and obvious as possible, not _really_ wanting to address the situation.

 

“So this is your idea of payback?” Emma(2) deadpanned

 

Regina(2) winced, immediately feeling bad and looked up to see the damage and saw Emma glaring at her, and then the corner of her mouth stretched into a smirk and Regina(2) was flooded with relief. Emma turned to Regina(1) and smiled at her as she stared back, confused.

 

“Now you have to clean it up,” Emma said, beaming like a dopey idiot.

 

It clicks.

 

“Ugh, great! Just fantastic! _Now_ I have to explain to her that I didn’t really kiss her because I don’t really like her and I...” she trailed off.

 

It clicks.

 

“Penny drops,” Regina(2) smirked

 

“Finally,” Emma says, rolling her eyes

 

“So that’s what you were thinking about at lunch!” Regina(1) is finally catching up. “That’s why you were so focused!”

 

It clicks.

 

“I- I gotta-“

 

“Yes, you do.”

 

“And I really?-“

 

“Yes. You _do_ ,” Regina(2) says firmly. “Now _go_!”

 

Regina turned towards the door and dashed for it, crashing into the room and startling Emma from her perch on the arm of the sofa to a stand.

 

“Hey, I heard voices out there, are you all-“ Emma paused, “did you _change_? I swear you were wearing something else earlie-“

 

She was cut off by Regina crashing their lips together and pulling her as close as possible as if they were lovers who hadn’t seen each other in years. They both melted into the kiss as Emma wrapped her arms around Regina’s neck and Regina wrapped her hands around Emma’s waist and, at that moment, everything was safe and calm and special and staggering and unbelievable and _right_.

 

At that moment, _it clicked._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here lies our grand finale and the rest of the story is up to you, have fun, run wild, tell me your ideas in the comments. I'd love to hear from you :)
> 
> I guess you could say the kiss really got them to... 
> 
> SNAP BACK TO REALITY! OH, THERE GOES GRAVITY! OH, THERE GOES RABBIT! HE CHOKED, HE’S SO MAD, BUT HE WON’T GIVE UP THAT EASY! NOPE, HE WON’T HAVE IT! (I’m sorry, I had to)


End file.
